Secret recordings about doctor postpone poisoning trial

Ana Maria Gonzalez-Angulo, a breast cancer oncologist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, was charged with aggravated assault against Dr. George Blumenschein, a specialist in lung and head and neck cancers at the institution.

The accusation, along with other alleged statements detailed on telephone calls that were surreptitiously recorded, forced defense attorneys for Gonzalez-Angulo to ask for the trial to be delayed, minutes before jury selection was scheduled to began.

In court, prosecutors said they had culled through more than six hours of calls in which Gonzalez-Angulo made several incriminating statements, including allegedly disclosing her lover's private medical information and telling others secret grand jury information that had been disclosed to her attorneys.

Her lawyers had been given complete transcripts of grand juror testimony to prepare for trial. Although her defense had seen the information, it remains secret under Texas law. Disclosing it could be illegal.

Assistant Harris County District Attorney Justin Keiter declined to comment or answer questions about the allegations disclosed in court.

In certain situations, prosecutors are allowed to use evidence of a suspect's prior convictions or of extraneous offenses, commonly called "bad acts." The recordings would be considered "bad acts."

Gonzalez-Angulo has never been convicted of any crime.

If prosecutors plan to use the evidence, they must notify defense attorneys. Depending on what happens at trial, jurors may never hear the recordings.

Wednesday's disclosure was the culmination of months of discovery in the case. Lawyers for Gonzalez-Angulo have complimented prosecutors for quickly releasing volumes of information, but argued earlier this week that they needed more specificity about what may be at issue in the hours of recordings.

With 60 prospective jurors lined up outside the courtroom Wednesday, state District Judge Katherine Cabaniss agreed that the prosecutors' written notice was too vague, prompting Keiter and prosecutor Nathan Hennigan to detail the information in open court.

After hearing a laundry list of allegations, including that Gonzalez-Angulo planned to seek revenge on people who testified against her during grand jury proceedings and sue others, her lawyers were granted a 10-day continuance.

Prosecutors noted that some of the claims made by Gonzalez-Angulo were obvious lies and would be presented as such, if heard by jurors,

Neither prosecutors nor defense lawyers would give further details about the recordings.

"I don't want to discuss the specifics of what their allegations are," defense attorney Derek Hollingsworth said. "We intend to strongly contest the evidence at trial."

Hollingsworth has maintained that Gonzalez-Angulo is innocent of the charges.

"She is a well-respected doctor, and she is not guilty of what she is accused of."

Court documents show that Gonzalez-Angulo and Blumenschein were in "a casual sexual relationship" when she allegedly gave him two cups of coffee laced with chemicals on Jan. 27, 2013.

He later was taken to an emergency center where he was found to be in kidney failure. He survived after undergoing dialysis.

Investigators learned the poison was ethylene glycol, a common chemical in medical labs. They arrested Gonzalez-Angulo five months later. She was charged with aggravated assault of a family member, the same law that protects victims in domestic violence cases.